Recently I have had some strong feelings on the matter of therianthropy/otherkin and have been searching for the will to type it out in a coherent way.

Please keep in mind that these are just my thoughts and opinions. I am not trying to pass them off as LAW or EXACTLY what it is, just what I think. Try to keep drama and retardation to a minimum please.

What is therianthropy?

Therianthropy is a spiritual belief which can be very wide and diverse in its interpretation. As with any group of people it has its 'extremists' who put the rest of them to shame and creates a stereotype.
Therianthropy seems to be a derivative of shamanism the likes of which was practiced by ancient American indians and possibly other cultures.
The most common 'types' of therianthropy out there are as such:

Totems and spirit guides
Some therian's define their spirituality through animal totems and spirit guides. Spiritual entities separate from themselves that shape and guide their behavior and actions throughout their lifetime. These therian's sometimes use the totemic symbolisim of an animal to decide what governs their spirit.
Spirit guides are visions or thoughts during meditation or dreaming usually that are anything from omens of bad things to come to simply a comforting familiar presence. Having a spirit guide animal comes down to interpreting what that animal means and what it is trying to show you.

Animal affinity
Some therian's simply feel a deep affinity for one or more creatures/animals and deeply associate with them. This is sometimes based on how those animals behave around that person (for example that person might always draw the attention/affection of domesticated cats), physical similarity's that are iconic to that person or even things to do with behavior or personality that are reflected by that animal. These therian's don't necessarily take a huge step into the 'spiritual' side of their therianthropy.

Animal spirits
Animal spirits are one of the most frowned upon and misunderstood therians because of stereotyping.
Some of the more spiritual therian's believe they do not have a human soul but instead have an animal one. Most are sane enough to admit they are human in the flesh of course, some believe that they were trapped in the wrong form. Other's believe that re-incarnation was the cause of their animal spirit. Other animal spirit therian's believe that the human soul is too complex to be defined by simply one creature and have many different animal presence's inside them.
Either way this is one of the most difficult and debatable form of therianthropy to describe.

Of all sorts
These therian's believe in all or some of the types mentioned above and have their own special way of defining their therianthropy. They take some key aspects of each. This is usually what the bulk of therian's do.

Are therian's different from otherkin you might ask? what about Weres and furrys?
In essence no they are not, the only difference between the two is that Therian's beliefs revolve around real animals and creatures, even those that once existed. Otherkin however have beliefs revolving around mythical/magical or unprooven creatures. It is possible to be both a therian AND an otherkin at the same time.

Were's are primarily shifter based beliefs and can be separate or part of therianthropy. It is also a spiritual/meditative based crowd but not necessarily one and the same.

Furrys? oh god. No, no, no and NO! Not everything that has to do with animals = furries. Granted many furrys are therians or otherkin but many also are NOT. Furrys are people belonging to the 'furry fandom' not anything spiritual at all in essence. (However this is not a classification of Furry article and I won't go into detail).

Are all therian's interested sexually in animals and the act of raping animals?
Absolutely not. I can't say that there aren't some out there but bestiality has nothing to do with Therianthropy at all, sexual has no place mixing with spiritual.

Why are therian's so shy? Why don't I see that many around/ haven't heard about therianthropy before?

Most theiran's are innately quiet about their spirituality because of the lack of acceptance of anything on the internet and close minded people. The 'extremists' have also created a very bad name for us in the therianthropic community.

A very good example of this is the Cat man [link] who took his therianthropy too far. People like this who alter their body or constantly wear costumes are in denial about their humanity. this is the WORST example of therianthropy you can get and it is unfortunately the loudest. It is people like this or the ones who go to live in the woods butt-naked with their animal brethren that give us a very undeserving stereotype.

Often if you mention that you are a Therian to someone who is uneducated on the subject or completely close minded and rude they will respond along the lines of:

"Oh im not going to waste my time talking to someone who thinks they are a -insert animal here-"
or
"Have fun dog-fucker"
or
any number of smartass comments that show quite blatantly that these people know nothing about Therianthropy.

Another reason why therianthropy dosn't get much publication is because many people don't know how to explain their animal related spiritual feelings and don't know that it comes with a name. I have met MANY people like this who are utterly relieved that there are other people like them out there.

Is Therianthropy a religious belief?

Not at all! Spirituality and Religion are two very very different things in my book. I am Agnostic and still a therian, I have met some christian therians and muslum/jewish too! What is to do with your personality, spirit (not necessarily soul) and behavior can easily be separate from your religious beliefs.

Why are so many therians wolves or canines?
This is one that gets bashed often, there are many wolf and canine related therians! Its just a fact of life x3 Many people can easily relate to the wolf's nature especially because it reflects a wilder untamed version of man kinds. Wolves are admirable because they are portrayed as powerful and strong, care for their young selflessly and have strong family bonds and ties to leadership. These are all quality's we as humans can empathize with or strive for. Hence the large amount of canine based therians!
Also more common therian types include: Big cats, birds of prey, sea mammals and horned animals. Predators and apex predators are also dominant in the community because we associate with them being predator's ourselves. I have however encountered many unusual animal therians before, even a housefly therian! Everything is open to possibility.

How do you become a Therian?
Most people are born therians or became so as they grew up, usually always having a close affinity with animals more than other children and sometimes having a sense of being more than just what they can see.

Be wary though.. many people are simply ' posers ' picking and choosing from their favorite animals and simply saying they are a therian of that animal. In my experience it has never worked that way. You do not choose what animal is your totem or is part of your spirit, they simply always have been or have become through personal development.

For example I am dominantly a wolf therian, my favourite animal is NOT the wolf but it is the one that I feel most closely and behave accordingly.
My first most favorite animal is the brown rat (rattus norvegicus) and no matter how much I adore and am fascinated by them I do not feel a spiritual connection to any sort of rat spirit yet. My second most favorite animal is the Red fox, I have many fond childhood memories of fox characters which helped me learn and grow. They are also some of the more interestingly behaving canines however I do not feel any spiritual connection to them either.

There is no doubt that wolves of course are pretty high up there on my favorite animal's list but so are cats, house sparrows, wolverines, pine martens and domestic dogs. It is not a thing I can pick and choose.

In the end therian's are just regular people like you and me who feel very strongly about animals and their spiritual beliefs. 99% of us don't do anything to hurt or offend anyone with our personal feelings but we still get bad rap.

I hope some of you may be more open minded in the future now that you have read this ^^